What secret/unlockable feature in a videogame required the greatest, most difficult display of skill and/or luck?

[Border]

I feel like the title is pretty self-explanatory, but I will elaborate.

Sometimes to unlock something cool in a game or see an Easter Egg, you have to complete a particular task or goal. Sometimes these are pretty moderate goals, and sometimes they are hard-as-fuck exercises in mastery and rage management. Tell me about the most difficult and trying times that you have tried to unlock a character, feature, or cheat.

Examples of difficult unlocks (but probably not contenders for the crown of Worst Ever):

Reptile in Mortal Kombat 1. Requires you to be on The Pit stage when an object flies by the moon.....so there's already an RNG element there, since objects only fly past every so often. You have to get a double flawless victory, which is hard as hell in MK since the computer is really cheap and reads your inputs, plus any attack that you block causes chip damage.

Goldeneye Invincibility Cheat - requires you to beat the game's second stage on 00 Agent difficulty, in less than 2 minutes. Speedrunning games that run at less than 15 FPS is hard as hell. I'm not sure if I was ever actually able to accomplish this one.

 

[Theswweet]

Dark Souls 2 rings

 

[ReddishGUI]

Unlocking the AX Cup in F-Zero GX was pretty rough.

 

[Gabriel Hall]

Goldeneye Invincibility Cheat - requires you to beat the game's second stage on 00 Agent difficulty, in less than 2 minutes. Speedrunning games that run at less than 15 FPS is hard as hell. I'm not sure if I was ever actually able to accomplish this one.

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If I recall, the speedrun also relies on a certain NPC appearing in the most optimal location of four possible spawn points. So you could have the most perfect run up to that point, but if the NPC isn't where you need him to be, then it was all for nothing. x_x Yeah, I'd say this qualifies.

 

[DrSopa]

destiny 2 the thread

 

[xxracerxx]

 

[OrionStarri]

I will gladly mention Trackmania Turbo's secret 'Super' campaign medal times here: To even unlock the ability to face these world-record pace times you must first beat the 200 track strong campaign by getting all the green medals, known as Trackmaster medals, set by the maker of the track itself, just to even unlock the ability to face the super campaign times. Furthermore, to this day, less than half a dozen people who have the game on any platform have beaten all 200 of these very difficult 'super campaign' times, thankfully this is a completely optional challenge and unlocks nothing but a vehicle skin or two and is not tied to any trophies/achievements on any platform.

It was basically a challenge/feature to make you unlock an even more difficult challenge haha.

 

[Hzsn724]

Final Fantasy X-2 get the true ending. You have to 100% the story.

 

[Conjo]

Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair has the golde tonic (and an alternative ending? Idk) locked behind beating the lair from the very first attempt, as in, beating it right after the tutorial. No RNG involved iirc but pretty challenging

 

[yurr]

Beating the Demi fiend in DDS

 

[jotun?]

I would have never stumbled across the entrance to the DLC world in Dark Souls without looking it up

 

[Birdie]

Final Fantasy X-2 get the true ending. You have to 100% the story.

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Don't you also have to press a button at a certain sound cue?

 

[TeenageFBI]

Unlocking the AX Cup in F-Zero GX was pretty rough.

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This was my answer. I miss that game.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Goldeneye Invincibility Cheat - requires you to beat the game's second stage on 00 Agent difficulty, in less than 2 minutes. Speedrunning games that run at less than 15 FPS is hard as hell. I'm not sure if I was ever actually able to accomplish this one.

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I think that one might be nostalgia, honestly. I tried endlessly to get the cheats in Goldeneye when I was in middle school and eventually gave up. When I was in college, my roommate and I set out to unlock all of the cheats, and we did it in an afternoon. I remember thinking that day, "this used to be much harder".

 

[Border]

If I recall, the speedrun also relies on a certain NPC appearing in the most optimal location of four possible spawn points. So you could have the most perfect run up to that point, but if the NPC isn't where you need him to be, then it was all for nothing. x_x Yeah, I'd say this qualifies.

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Yeah, I believe there is a "save the scientist" objective, so you are stuck dealing with an NPC's spawn point and their primitive ability to navigate their way through the level. If there's something blocking the scientist's path he may just run in circles for a few precious moments as the AI tries to figure out what to do. There's also a couple in-game cutscenes/dialogue sequences that can fuck you over if the NPCs there don't behave as intended.

 

[AstronaughtE]

I dont know if it meets the requirements, but by the time I finished shooting the kerotan frogs in MGS3 I didn't want to play the game again.

 

[Birdie]

As a kid I thought this about unlocking Green Hill Zone in Sonic Adventure 2.

I could never get good ranks.

 

[Border]

I will gladly mention Trackmania Turbo's secret 'Super' campaign medal times here: To even unlock the ability to face these world-record pace times you must first beat the 200 track strong campaign by getting all the green medals, known as Trackmaster medals, set by the maker of the track itself, just to even unlock the ability to face the super campaign times. Furthermore, to this day, less than half a dozen people who have the game on any platform have beaten all 200 of these very difficult 'super campaign' times, thankfully this is a completely optional challenge and unlocks nothing but a vehicle skin or two and is not tied to any trophies/achievements on any platform.

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Haha, I had originally conceived this thread as a question about "What is the most difficult challenge to unlock a stupid and worthless piece of content?" In other words, what unlockables required a huge investment of time and effort, only to give the player something of little-to-no value? I think this Trackmania example would definitely apply.

 

[Taco_Human]

Unlocking the AX Cup in F-Zero GX was pretty rough.

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I did this one. Proud of it. Only thing I've yet to complete is Save Jody on very hard.

 

[entremet]

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I can't believe this was ever a thing. Who's idea was this? It's ridiculous.

 

[OG YOLOwen]

Getting Recon armor in the heydays of Halo 3 was a big achievement.

 

[Jakenbakin]

I will gladly mention Trackmania Turbo's secret 'Super' campaign medal times here: To even unlock the ability to face these world-record pace times you must first beat the 200 track strong campaign by getting all the green medals, known as Trackmaster medals, set by the maker of the track itself, just to even unlock the ability to face the super campaign times. Furthermore, to this day, less than half a dozen people who have the game on any platform have beaten all 200 of these very difficult 'super campaign' times, thankfully this is a completely optional challenge and unlocks nothing but a vehicle skin or two and is not tied to any trophies/achievements on any platform.

It was basically a challenge/feature to make you unlock an even more difficult challenge haha.

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That's insane. Like the game isn't hard enough to get the medals, I definitely didn't know about these at all lol. I need to play some more of this, I hope to beat it... one day...

 

[Dice]

As a kid I thought this about unlocking Green Hill Zone in Sonic Adventure 2.

I could never get good ranks.

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I reeeeaally wanted that prize too, but I could never be as good as the game wanted. xD

 

[Border]

As a kid I thought this about unlocking Green Hill Zone in Sonic Adventure 2.

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As far as I know, Dreamcast was the only platform where you could download other people's Save files without purchasing any additional hardware. I unlocked Green Hill Zone just by downloading someone else's save file and I always felt sorry for anyone that played SA2 on another console because they would actually have to complete SA2 and get top rankings on every single level. Not that any of this disqualifies SA2 though - I think it's a great addition to the list, and your ability to cheat your way around it doesn't change that.

 

[FRS1987]

Beating the Demi fiend in DDS

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Yes.

 

[MEGrika]

Final Fantasy X-2 get the true ending. You have to 100% the story.

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Getting the true ending on your first run is super difficult but you are meant to get it on a NG+ run where your story percent carries over and choosing alternate story routes will easily get you to 100%. I still remember though following a guide to get it in my first run and failing at the concert when I took 2 steps forward and started the cutscene instead of walking backwards into the room behind me to talk to an NPC for a few lines of random dialogue.

 

[night814]

As a kid I thought this about unlocking Green Hill Zone in Sonic Adventure 2.

I could never get good ranks.

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This is one I actually did and was incredibly proud of myself for getting the best ranks on the Knuckles and Rouge stages. I don't care for them so much.

Someone mentioned F-Zero GX, basically that entire game after and including that one timed race in the desert in story mode was impossible for me and I loved the game. Ended up just playing the arcade mode over and over which was much more forgiving imo.

 

[Hzsn724]

Don't you also have to press a button at a certain sound cue?

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Yea before the final boss. It's apart of the 100%

 

[JCal]

As a kid I thought this about unlocking Green Hill Zone in Sonic Adventure 2.

I could never get good ranks.

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This right here. I put in so many hours. Goddamn it all! Never unlocked GHZ and it haunts me to this day.

 

[Wood Man]

Getting 100 kills without dying in Bushido Blade Slash mode to unlock Katze. Frustrating as hell. But it was cool to use a gun in a sword fight.

 

[Border]

This right here. I put in so many hours. Goddamn it all! Never unlocked GHZ and it haunts me to this day.

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Even though you could cheat/bypass the requirements by downloading a save file to your VMU, it's really kinda sad and frustrating that Sonic Team locked one of the most desirable and interesting stages in the game behind some ridiculous challenge. Green Hill Zone should have just been a bonus stage that you get for beating the game.

 

[Hzsn724]

Getting the true ending on your first run is super difficult but you are meant to get it on a NG+ run where your story percent carries over and choosing alternate story routes will easily get you to 100%. I still remember though following a guide to get it in my first run and failing at the concert when I took 2 steps forward and started the cutscene instead of walking backwards into the room behind me to talk to an NPC for a few lines of random dialogue.

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Exactly. It's doable. But it's still so iffy. If you miss one part then you'll come in at 99%. Miss the spheres, don't talk to everyone, watch all of the sphere cinematics, don't skip any dialogue, beat all side quests ... It's just frustrating and after beating the whole game and doing everything but realize you forgot to talk to the barkeep in chapter 4 with no chapter select is absolutely horrible.

 

[Birdie]

The only SA2 level I ever S Ranked I recall was the Robotnik level with the high gravity that's basically a rail shooter.

Best level in the game outside of the Speed Character levels imo.

 

[Xterrian]

In RuneScape there's an optional sidequest you can do where certain monsters can drop champion scrolls, which you use to fight said champion in a duel. The reward for doing so is a special imp that follows you around, showing how many you've beat.

Just seeing 1 was rare, as the drop rate was very rare(about 1 in 5000 chance.) Thing is, there were 12 or so champions.....I'm almost positive the amount of players who defeated them all is still in the double digits 10+ years later.

 

[Patazord]

Beating the hidden boss in Bayonetta

Spoiler

Rodin

he's no joke.

Unlocking Devil Kazuya on Tekken 1, you had to beat all Galaga levels at the start of the game.

 

[Deleted member 8861]

I'd assume bullet hell games have some abolutely nightmarish unlockables.

 

[RecRoulette]

Not really on the level of some of the ones here but I'm always amazed at the "steps" needed in Call of Duty Zombies maps and how people figure that shit out.

Also is there a documented way to actually finish PT? Or is that shit all up to RNG

 

[kamineko]

Click to shrink...

I put off beating this game for years because I wanted to unlock the weapon but it didn't seem worth it

 

[panama chief]

Unlocking The Kid in Super Meat Boy.

 

[SubvertedTrope]

FFX celestial weapons have a bunch of these qualities, I think the absolute worst is Tidus' sigil, followed closely by Lulu's and Wakka's cause you have to suffer through blitzball and then RNG your way to the reward.

Tidus' Sigil:

To obtain the Sun Sigil, the player must beat the chocobo trainer in the Calm Lands with a time 0:00. This is possible by collecting enough balloons on the course to lower their time to 0:00 upon finishing. The player has to finish the course in under 36 seconds with a minimum of 13 balloons and only one bird hit to get the required time. In some versions, if the player times 0:00 on the first try, they must beat the time of 0:00 to receive the sigil. In the HD remaster version, scoring exactly 0:00.0 will not earn the sigil. Although it will display as 0:00.0, the "perfect time" is achieved with at least -0.1 seconds. Due to the minigame's luck-based mechanics, the Sun Sigil is considered one of the most tedious items to obtain.

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Lulu's:

To obtain the Venus/Mars Sigil, the player must go to the Thunder Plains and dodge two hundred consecutive lightning bolts without leaving the area. The player is not told how many bolts they have dodged, and if they miscount and leave the area without dodging enough bolts, their total is reset. It is thus advised to aim for more than two hundred dodged bolts. Loading the save game (if the player saved the game each time dodged certain amount of bolts in row) will also reset the count. Once two hundred bolts have been dodged in a row, the chest containing the sigil will appear in front of the Thunder Plains branch of Rin's Travel Agency. This key item is considered the most difficult to obtain in the game.

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[Begaria]

Dead Space 2 Hardcore Mode - three saves only, hardest difficulty enemies and low ammo.

That reward tho:

Instakill, infinite ammo, hand cannon. Literally, a hand cannon.

 

[Elliot Pudge]

it'd be great if people explained their choices as i haven't played the majority of these games

 

[Border]

Also is there a documented way to actually finish PT? Or is that shit all up to RNG

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I believe there is a prescribed way to do it, but it's all ridiculous shit that nobody ever would have been able to figure out on their own.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

If I recall, the speedrun also relies on a certain NPC appearing in the most optimal location of four possible spawn points. So you could have the most perfect run up to that point, but if the NPC isn't where you need him to be, then it was all for nothing. x_x Yeah, I'd say this qualifies.

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What made Goldeneye/PD cheat unlocks hard was half to do with the frame rate

 

[TheDestructiveSquirrel]

Conquest Extreme in MLB The Show 18

 

[Zelda]

Unlocking The Kid in Super Meatboy.

 

[ss_lemonade]

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This was tedious but not exactly difficult if you knew where to go (there's a spot where lightning strikes in fixed intervals. Found it by accident). I thought the forest butterflies and 0 second chocobo thing were harder

 

[Deleted member 49438]

FFX celestial weapons have a bunch of these qualities, I think the absolute worst is Tidus' sigil, followed closely by Lulu's and Wakka's cause you have to suffer through blitzball and then RNG your way to the reward.

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I literally just stopped playing the game without beating it once I realized I had to dodge lightning & play blitzball if I wanted to go into the final fight fully decked out. No regrets.

 

[SubvertedTrope]

I literally just stopped playing the game without beating it once I realized I had to dodge lightning & play blitzball if I wanted to go into the final fight fully decked out. No regrets.

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Well if you ever go back know that those weapons are more meant to fight the 9 superbosses. You can breeze through the main game with whatever you want.

 

[KushalaDaora]

it'd be great if people explained their choices as i haven't played the majority of these games

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'Demifiend in DDS'

Demifiend is the protagonist of SMT3 : Nocturne and serve as optional super boss in SMT : Digital Devil Saga Part 2.

I never fought him but I know his infamous reputation for being ridiculously hard.